News Desk
ABU DHABI: Zuleya, the social enterprise of the Fatima Bint Mohamed Bin Zayed Initiative (FBMI), is set to open the GCC’s first handmade carpet facility in Abu Dhabi, bringing an ancient craft tradition into the UAE’s evolving heritage landscape. The 10,000-square-foot facility, located within MiZa, Abu Dhabi’s emerging creative district in Mina Zayed, is scheduled to open in December 2026.
The landmark facility will bring together the centuries-old art of hand-knotted carpet weaving with the UAE’s own traditions of craftsmanship, creating a distinctive platform for heritage, skills development, cultural exchange and women’s empowerment.
At the heart of the initiative is a new generation of Emirati women currently undergoing specialist training in carpet weaving. Through the programme, they will develop highly skilled craftsmanship while helping establish a new dimension of heritage craft within the UAE.
The initiative represents an evolution in how heritage can be preserved and carried forward. While the UAE has long demonstrated a strong commitment to protecting its tangible and intangible cultural heritage, Zuleya’s new facility will introduce an ancient craft from another cultural tradition and create an opportunity for it to become part of the UAE’s contemporary heritage story.
The centre will also showcase and celebrate traditional Emirati handicrafts including Sadu, Khoos and Talli, bringing these distinctive forms of UAE craftsmanship into dialogue with the approximately 4,000-year-old tradition of carpet weaving. The result will be a living environment where different craft traditions can intersect, exchange knowledge and inspire future generations.
“This is about more than making carpets; it is about creating a new chapter for heritage in the UAE,” said Maywand Jabarkhyl, CEO of FBMI. “By bringing carpet weaving together with Sadu, Khoos and Talli, we are creating an exchange of skills and cultures while opening new opportunities for Emirati women.”
Located within MiZa, the facility will form part of Abu Dhabi’s growing creative ecosystem and is situated close to the Saadiyat Cultural District, home to a rapidly developing cluster of major cultural institutions. Its opening in December will add another distinctive cultural and creative destination to the capital.
The facility builds on FBMI’s longstanding work supporting artisans and communities in Afghanistan since its establishment in 2010. Through its social-enterprise model, FBMI has created sustainable employment opportunities around traditional carpet making, with a strong focus on women’s empowerment, vocational training and improving livelihoods.
Zuleya brings this experience into the UAE through a model that combines traditional craftsmanship with social impact. The new Abu Dhabi facility represents the next evolution of this work, transferring knowledge and expertise developed over more than a decade while creating new opportunities for Emirati women to learn and practise a highly specialised craft.
More broadly, the initiative reflects a growing recognition that heritage is not only about preserving the past, but also about creating opportunities for future generations to learn, practise and evolve traditional skills.
By bringing UAE handicrafts together with an ancient international craft tradition, the new centre will create a distinctive platform for cultural exchange while strengthening Abu Dhabi’s position as a growing hub for creativity, design and heritage.
The opening of the facility is expected to mark a significant milestone for Zuleya and FBMI, contributing to a new chapter in the UAE’s ongoing story of preserving, celebrating and creating heritage.